1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lane de-skewing and more particularly, the present invention relates to de-skewing in a multi-lane receiver.
2. Description of the Related Art
Communication networks often utilize a SERDES (serializer/de-serializer) as a means of converting slow speed parallel signals into higher speed serial signals. When there is a large number of parallel signals, they are often converted into more than one serial signal. This is often referred to as a multi-lane link.
In a multi-lane link, the time it takes for a signal to travel from the transmitting end to the receiving end varies from lane to lane. This is referred to as lane skew. There are many sources causing the lane to lane skew including, but not limited to, chip I/O drivers and receivers, printed wiring boards, electrical and optical cables, serialization and de-serialization logic, and re-timing repeaters.
In order to properly reconstitute a group of parallel signals which have been transformed into more than one serial signal traveling on more than one lane, it is necessary to eliminate the effect of the lane skew. This is referred to as de-skewing.